We've Still Got Us
by Vernacular Jargon
Summary: Rebeccca and William, two siblings lost and without a home, are found by the Cartwrights. This is all well and good, though some townsfolk of Virginia City might not share the same opinion.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

The morning was bright and shining as a girl in her late teenaged years trekked through overgrown grasses. She had a bright smile on her face that contrasted with her ripped and dirty clothes, but complemented her clear, green eyes. The girl had two books clamped in her left hand that had varying degrees of wear and tear. _Webster's Speller for Young Children_ was the thinner and rattier of the two and _1001 Remedies for Every Occasion_ was its thicker companion. Rebecca, as the girl was named, turned her head to look over her shoulder at the young boy trying to keep up behind her. "Hey Buddy, how are you doing back there?" She asked before tossing her light brown hair out of her line of vision.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," the boy- William- panted. At the tender age of nine, Will was slightly small for his age and the skinny legs hidden under ripped cotton pants couldn't keep up with his elder sisters' longer strides. His green eyes were also clear and happy, and his sandy-blond hair shone in the early morning sun. "Can you give me another spelling word?" Will carefully clambered over a large, fallen long Rebecca jumped over a few seconds earlier.

"All right," Rebecca looked up towards the cloudless blue sky in thought.

"Something hard. I don't want an easy word."

"Oh, don't worry," Rebecca reassured loftily, "I will most definitely make this word difficult."

"What's the word?"

"_Difficult_," Rebecca turned on her heel and grinned at her brother. She turned back ahead and enjoyed the sun as she waited for her brother's answer.

Will's forehead gently creased as it always did when he was concentrating or deep in thought, "D-i-f… -f… diffi-diffe… cul… cult… d-i-f-f… -i… c? Oh!" Will brightened up triumphantly and grinned at his sister's back, "D-i-f-f-i-c-u-l-t. Difficult! Wow, Becky, 'difficult' _was_ kind of difficult!" Will giggled.

"But you did it, Bud!" Rebecca spun around to flash her brother a smile, "Good job."

Emboldened by his success, Will begged for another, "Next word, Becky, another one!"

Rebecca hummed a tune while thinking of a second word as she tried to look past trees and brush for water. Suddenly, Rebecca heard hooves quickly advancing to the north. She strained her ears to listen harder and realized there were two horses. "How about we play a different game instead? It's much more exciting than a spelling game." Rebecca turned towards Will and shortened the gap between them. She outstretched her empty hand.

"What game is it?" Will's eyes were bright and excited and grabbed his sister's hand.

"It's called 'Hide and Find.' We hide together in the bushes and somebody tries to find us. If they don't, then we win!" Rebecca quickly led an excited Will into the thicket where she knew the riders wouldn't give a second glance, "But we have to be very quiet, Bud, you hear?"

Will nodded eagerly. Rebecca grinned and pulled her brother in between her books and her body to shield him if needed, though passing it off as just trying to compact them even smaller. A patch of sunlight fought though the branches covering the two siblings. Will thought the small patch of light looked like a flying bird; he wanted to tell Becky, but she told him to stay quiet. He didn't want to lose the game.

The two riders were now close enough that Rebecca could pick out their conversation. "Tell me, Little Joe," a dry, baritone spoke, "where exactly did you lose that bull?"

"I didn't lose it, Adam," Joe's voice sounded younger and angry, "I just-"

"-Misplaced it, yes, you told me before. Though I still don't understand how you could misplace a bull of that size without losing it."

"If you're just going to josh with me then you can go back to the house." Joe spoke angrily, still out of view.

Adam's voice took on a humorous tone, "Oh, I wouldn't do that, little brother. Joshing you is just too much fun."

Rebecca heard a huff, though the large exhale did not come from the younger-sounding male. She flicked her eyes to the left and saw the large, hairy bull the two brothers were squabbling over. Her heart sank and she whispered, "I think we're gonna lose, Buddy. Look to your right."

Will perked up and turned to his right, resting his head on Rebecca's arm. He saw the massive amount of beef ten yards away and his green eyes grew the size of dinner plates, "He's big," he whispered, looking up into Rebecca's eyes, "but that doesn't mean we're going to lose." Rebecca held Will's head closer in an embrace and hoped Will was right. The horses and their riders were now within Rebecca's sight and they were dangerously close.

"_There_! Ha! See, Adam? Just misplaced." Rebecca stopped breathing as Joe trotted around the bush too close for her comfort.

"What is lost will most nearly always be found," Adam spoke to himself with a smirk. He followed his younger brother towards the docile creature. Joe mocked his brother and glared at Adam before he took a length of rope from his saddle and unfurled it. The rope was long enough to reach the bull from his distance on his pinto, and he lassoed the bull's horns in one fluid motion.

"_Becky, did you see that_?" Will blurted in awe. The two men on their horses whipped their heads to the direction of Will's voice, surprised. Joe quickly replaced his round mouth and wide eyes with a coy grin towards Will. Adam's surprise took the opposite direction: his features grew dark with suspicion. Rebecca's stomach lurched unhappily.

"You liked that, kid?" Joe sat taller in his saddle and he sent a smirk in Adam's direction. Adam didn't take his eyes off of the trespassers.

"How'd you _do_ that?" Deep admiration and excitement created a glow around the boy that only sat Joe higher on his horse. Will broke free of Rebecca's hold and nearly bolted to Joe. Rebecca let out a shaky sigh and stood up as well. She brushed off her tattered, brown dress before looking up at the two men.

Adam's unwavering gaze met Rebecca's. "You're on private land. Who are you and what are you doing?"

Rebecca quickly looked at her infatuated brother that was oblivious to the interrogation she was getting from Adam. "My name is Rebecca. That's my brother William." She looked up at the dark man dressed in black, complete with a black hat, "We are trying to find water. I apologize; I didn't know this was private property." She smiled and stuck out her empty hand.

Adam shook her hand out of courtesy with an "Adam Cartwright," before asking her another question, "How long have you been travelling?" He looked at her ragged appearance and her tattered books in evaluation.

"Three weeks. Maybe a month," Rebecca responded. "The treks are slow when you're taking care of a nine-year-old." She paused, "What private property _are_ we on, if I may ask, Mr. Cartwright."

"The Ponderosa," Adam said with a twinge of homely pride in his voice, "my father owns the ranch and my two younger half-brothers and I live and work here." He looked over at Joe showing Will how to lasso the bull. The bull hadn't moved since Joe spotted it the first time, so it proved as an easy bull to use for practice. "What were you doing with our bull?" Adam asked when he turned back to face Rebecca.

"We weren't doing anything with it," she answered, "we were just passing through and didn't notice it until a minute before you did." Adam's dark eyes clouded in thought, no doubt considering what to do next. Rebecca saw this and suggested, "Mr. Cartwright, if you could lead us to a horse trough, we'll take our fill and leave your property. We aren't looking for trouble, just two mouthfuls of water."

Adam was silent for a beat. Then: "Joe and I will take you and your brother back to the ranch house to clean up and have a bite to eat and you will tell us why you're travelling."

"That sounds fair," Rebecca grinned, "thank you." She then turned to her brother and called, "Hey Buddy, come over here!"

Will was bouncing up and down with happiness. "Becky! Joe's teaching me how to lasso a bull!"

Rebecca laughed and knelt in front of Will to reach his eye level, "That's mighty nice of Joe to teach you, Bud. Have you thanked him yet?" He nodded his head quickly and Rebecca went on, "Joe and Adam are going to lead us back to their house so we can take a quick bath and eat a meal before we leave their land, all right?"

"Yeah," Will answered like a distracted nine-year-old would, looking over at a smiling Joe, "can I ride horseback with Joe?"

"You're going to have to ask him. Maybe he doesn't want to share his horse," Rebecca stood up and shifted her books to her right arm to hold Will's with her left, leading him to the two Cartwrights.

Joe happily agreed to Will's request and hopped off of his pinto to help Will into the saddle before jumping up behind him. Adam likewise helped Rebecca climb onto his horse side-saddle. The four travelers set off for the ranch house with Adam in the lead and Joe bringing up the rear leading the slow-moving bull, all the while answering questions Will kept firing his way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

Rebecca looked up towards the roof of the Cartwright's ranch house with as much awe as when Will saw Joe lasso the bull a few miles back. _Ranch house?_ Rebecca though incredulously, _more like a mansion._ She looked over at her brother and saw he mirrored her fascination with the building, though he was more vocal about it that Rebecca was. "Do you have enough toys to fill all those rooms?" Will asked aloud. Joe threw back his head in laughter and Rebecca could feel Adam's deep chuckle reverberate in his chest.

"No, we don't have a whole lot of toys," Joe answered after he quieted down, "but we do have chess and checkers. You've ever played them before?" He swung his leg over his pinto's rear to lightly drop down on the ground. He led the horse to a well-worn wooded post in the front of the house and looped the reins over it twice.

"I'm not too good at checkers," Will said as Joe was tying the reins. Joe came back and helped Will off the horse and Will added in a whisper, "But sometimes Becky lets me win. She thinks I don't know, but I do."

Joe set Will back on the dusty ground and whispered back, "Well, I guess she's a mighty good sister. I have to cheat at checkers to win against my brothers." He gave a wink and Will giggled.

"Yeah, and he doesn't keep that a secret," Adam spoke up, tying his horse to the post as Rebecca helped herself off the saddle, "the only good moves Little Joe makes are _when_ he cheats." Adam led the way into the house, followed by Rebecca and Will. Joe led the massive bull into the nearby barn before entering the house.

Adam entered the foyer and placed his hat on the hook nailed to the wall. "Pa?" he called.

"Son!" An older man took four great strides to come into view. His brown eyes were bright and his smile reached all corners of his leathery and wrinkled face "Did you and Joseph find the bull?"

"That's not all we found, Pa," Adam's eyes sparkled with dark humor and he stepped aside to reveal Rebecca clutching Will close to her with one hand on his shoulder, the other one clutching her books. "We found these two in a bush. They've been wandering for nearly a month."

The man's smile faltered when he saw the state of the children's clothes and his eyebrows furrowed when he heard how long they had been traveling. He took a few more heavy steps with his boots and stuck out his large, calloused hand, "I'm Ben Cartwright."

Rebecca let go of her brother's shoulder to shake hands and her hand was enveloped in Ben's, "Rebecca, Mr. Cartwright. This is my younger brother William."

Ben knelt down in front of the little boy and his grin was back. "How old are you, William?"

Will looked up at Rebecca for support before answering, "Nine, sir."

"Nine years old?" Ben reiterated, "Why, you're practically the man of the house!" Will smiled shyly and stole a glance from Rebecca. Standing up, Ben motioned Rebecca and Will to sit with a kind smile on his face. "Please, come in."

Rebecca and Will were led to the circle of chairs in front of a large stone fireplace. They sat close together on one side of the red settee while Ben sat in the red leather chair next to them. Adam stood on Rebecca and Will's left, across from his father. "I apologize for trespassing on your land, Mr. Cartwright," Rebecca started, "It's hard to tell the difference between unclaimed land and private property in this part of the country."

"No apologies necessary, Miss…" Ben trailed off, realizing he didn't know Rebecca's last name.

"Gullixson," Rebecca interjected quickly. She subtly squeezed her brother's hand when he looked up at her. Adam watched this with unblinking eyes. Ben did not notice the confusion that showed plainly on Will's face.

"Miss Gullixson," Ben finished. "I am sure the both of you would like a nice long bath and a hot meal-"

"I did promise them that," Adam agreed, still keeping his eyes on Rebecca, "they were going to tell their story after their breakfast. I'll ask Hop Sing to draw them their baths right now." He turned with one last suspicious look at Rebecca and left the house as Joe entered it.

"The bull's in the barn, Pa," Joe grinned as he tossed his hat on the table in the entryway. Will grinned at the sound of Joe's voice and he turned around on the settee to face him. "Hi, William!" His grin grew wider and his eyes danced with laughter at the sight of the excited boy.

"Joe! Could you play checkers with me after I eat and take a bath?" Will asked wide-eyed. He went on happily, trying to convince Little Joe, "I'll even let you cheat, because I'll probably cheat too."

Rebecca, Joe, and Ben laughed at Will's brutally honest statement, though Ben laughed the loudest out of the three. "Now William, we don't promote cheating in this household." He chuckled, "Though I don't think that has ever stopped Joseph here."

After Rebecca and Will had taken their baths and ate their fill of Hop Sing's pork chops, Rebecca, Ben, Adam, and Hoss Cartwright- who was introduced to the siblings during their meal- sat in the chairs around the fireplace while Joe played chess with Will a few paces away, listening to the conversation intently. "All right, Rebecca. Start from the beginning." Adam stated plainly as he crossed his legs in a blue armchair.

"My family used to live in California and my father made a living searching for gold. He heard that people were finding gold in the corners of the Wassuk Range and the Excelsior Mountains, so he packed up our things and left." Rebecca started out calmly. Joe was trying to visualize the geography Rebecca described and was too distracted to notice Will king his own piece in the middle of the board.

"Aurora, isn't that the name of the boomtown there?"

Rebecca answered Hoss's question with a nod, "It's not a town yet, though I expect so in the next year; my family wasn't the only one that moved to the mountains. We lived there a month and my father found a gold nugget." Her eye grew bright, imagining the scene, "That rock was the size of his palm and it glittered in the candlelight when my mother cleaned it with her apron. Then somehow overnight, men heard that my father found gold and they got jealous."

Adam was listening intently. Ben nodded slowly. That's how it always was. Rebecca swallowed and went on, "My father didn't go into town right away- the bank was closed by the time he found the gold- so the men decided to steal it. They disguised themselves as bandits, bringing torches with them. They spooked away the horses and threw the torches on the roof, thinking Pa was the only one inside. My pa wouldn't give them the gold." Will looked up into Joe's clouded eyes and grinned before looking back down at the checkerboard and taking two of Joe's pieces. "The roof collapsed and instantly killed my parents. Will and I were hiding in a corner underneath our bed, so we were saved from most of the damage. We escaped after the back wall fell down a few minutes later, and we've been traveling ever since."

"Is it your turn, Joe?" Will asked politely after setting up the rest of Joe's pieces.

"Uhmm, n-no I think it's your turn." _If not,_ Joe thought with a small grin, _I'll give him the benefit of the doubt; he's going to lose anyway._ Will grinned and jumped over Joe's remaining five pieces, winning the game. Joe furrowed his brow in confusion, "How'd I let you beat me?" he asked, mystified.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just better at checkers than you," Will giggled.

"You mean, better at _cheating_ than me," Joe laughed as the realization dawned on him. He stood up and made a move to tickle him, "C'mere you!" Will shrieked as Joe's hands nearly caught the boy in his chair. Will jumped up and ran around the small table before circling Adam, Ben, Hoss, and Rebecca twice until he flew out the door, Joe on his tail.

"Little Joe sure took to that boy," Hoss grinned, looking out the doorway to see Joe tackle Will to the ground, both of them laughing. Ben chuckled, also observing the scene from his chair. Rebecca turned around in the settee and Adam's face cracked a small smile before he started the conversation again.

"I was thinking, Pa, we could give them the guest bedroom for the night and let them rest before they went on their way." As an afterthought, Adam added "Wherever they're going."

"Our uncle lives in Reno," Rebecca said, "I was thinking we'd travel there."

"From the Excelsior Mountains all the way to Reno without any provisions or tools?" Ben asked incredulously, "I'm surprised you two made it this far unscathed."

"We didn't arrive here without our fair share of cuts and bruises, I assure you, Mr. Cartwright," Rebecca revealed a soft smile, "I knew they would happen, that was why I salvaged this book." She held up _1001 Remedies for Every Occasion_ that had yet to leave her side.

Ben lifted the book's weight from Rebecca's hands and he leafed through the pages, some used and others not. "You kept this one, what is the other?"

"My old speller," Rebecca answered as she held the tattered book in her lap, "I didn't want William to forget his studies while we traveled."

Ben looked out the open door in thought and saw Will was now chasing Joe, probably looking for revenge. "Rebecca, why don't you stay here for a while? William can go to school in Virginia City. Both of you can rest from your journey and when you've both recuperated we can send you off in a stagecoach to Reno."

"Oh, that would be wonderful, Mr. Cartwright, thank you!" Rebecca smiled, "I will find a way to repay your hospitality-"

Ben dismissed Rebecca's wish with a shake of his head, "Your caring for your younger brother is repay enough." Rebecca smiled again but it faltered slightly when she caught Adam's stone-cold face and probing dark eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

"Something about her story just doesn't make sense," Adam lowered his three-pound hammer as he voiced his suspicions later that day over fence repair. Adam, Hoss, and Joe were left behind to keep the ranch running while Ben, Rebecca, and Will rode into town to buy new clothes to replace the rags the two siblings wore.

"What makes you say that, Adam?" Hoss wiped his forehead with his large arm and dropped the post he was holding, feeling the three brothers were going to talk and rest for a spell.

"Why didn't Rebecca take a knife, or the gold her father found? If she had time to grab books, wouldn't you think she could have grabbed more important things?"

"Write this down, Hoss," Joe leaned on his shovel with a smirk, "Older brother here just said books aren't important."

"You're missing the point," Adam rolled his eyes amid his brothers' chuckles. "They didn't even run to a sheriff when their house burned down. Don't you think that's a bit peculiar to you?"

"They probably just weren't thinkin' straight," Hoss assured, "they're only kids, after all. What would you've done, Adam, if you barely escaped your burning house?"

"I would've gone to the sheriff-"

"Joe," Hoss asked, not getting the answer he wanted from Adam, "what would you've done?"

Joe rested his chin on the shovel's handle in thought before replying, "I would probably try to find a bucket of water." Joe saw the pointed look Hoss was giving him and straightened up with a humorous glint in his green eyes, "No, no, no. What I'd _actually_ do would run away from my house and avoid all towns along the way to Reno, where my uncle lives. Unfortunately, I'd get caught by two ranchers looking for a misplaced bull. _Misplaced_." Joe shot a look at Adam, not letting their earlier argument rest. "That's what I'd do, Hoss."

"See, Adam?" Hoss said seriously, "Those kids ain't gonna-"

"Hoss, you can't be serious-"

"I am, older brother. Just because that little filly's story doesn't match up what you think makes sense in your own head, it doesn't mean she's out to get our silverware-" here Joe giggled "-or that they've got a reason to fear the law. If anything, they're probably hiding from the people that want the gold. Have you ever thought'a that?"

Adam swallowed and raised his chin, "No. I didn't."

Hoss grinned and picked up the board he dropped, "They aren't bad because their story isn't what you wanted. Now let's get back to work so we can get this over with and have some lunch." Joe laughed and picked up his shovel.

* * *

><p>"Thank you again for buying us these things," Rebecca smiled politely as she glanced over her shoulder to the mound of parcels wrapped in brown paper, consisting of four pairs of outfits, two pairs of shoes, and one suitcase in the back, held down by an ecstatic Will. "And thank you for meeting the schoolteacher to start William off into the schoolhouse. That means more to me than the clothes."<p>

Ben turned his face to the young woman next to him and returned her smile, "You're welcome, my dear. And if you need anything else during your stay on the Ponderosa, my sons and I will be happy to oblige." Ben faced the rutted path and urged the horses on towards the last leg of the trip.

Rebecca turned back and smiled at her younger brother sitting in the back of the buckboard and squinting in the sun. "How're you doing, Buddy? Everything all right back there?"

"Yup!" Will exclaimed as he clambered over to sit on the suitcase behind Rebecca. "When we get back, I'm gonna show Joe my new shoes!"

"Do you like those new shoes, Will?" Ben asked with a grin, knowing full well Will was beside himself when it came to his black-leathered Brogans.

"Yessir!" Will jumped up and down on the suitcase, "I'm gonna put them on right away! I've never had shoes before!"

Ben was taken by surprise at Will's last comment that was so innocently spoken. He furrowed his brows in concern and glanced at Rebecca, who hid her face by looking towards the scenery on her right. _No wonder that poor boy loves his new shoes so much_, Ben realized. Ben swallowed his shock and grinned back at Will, "You should change into your new clothes too when we get back, that way you could be clean for lunch." Will readily agreed and nodded his head violently.

When the trio was within sight of the ranch house, Will yelped in joy. He grabbed his new shoes, tied together by the laces, and jumped out of the buckboard to run the rest of the way. Ben laughed and Rebecca sighed and shook her head good-naturedly. "Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe!" Will exclaimed to the world multiple times over as he was running, "Joe, Joe, look at what I got!"

Little Joe came out of the barn grinning at the boy, "What'd'ya got, Will?" He knelt down in the dirt to get eye-level with Will.

"I got shoes! Look!" Will brandished his pair in front of him as he was jumping up and down, preventing Joe from getting a good look at the black blurs in Will's hand. "This is my first pair of shoes ever, and I'm gonna put them on right now so you can see them!"

"This is your first pair of shoes?" Joe tried to hide his concern as Will untied his shoes and promptly sat in the dirt to shove them on his feet.

"Yeah," Will answered distractedly. He put them both on and stood up without tying them, "I don't know how to tie them, but look!" Showing off his shoes, Will accidentally tripped on a stray lace and would have fallen if Joe hadn't steadied him.

"Here, I'll lace 'em up for you. I'd show you now, but it looks like your sister wants you," Joe looked past Will and saw Rebecca coming near to fetch her brother. Once Joe tied Will's shoes he stood and ruffled Will's uncombed locks that were near as thick as his own. Will met his sister and the two walked inside the house.

Joe stood watching the two enter the house and once the door was shut, he turned to find his father by the buckboard, struggling to carry the neat parcels he had bought at the mercantile. "Need any help, Pa?" He asked as he met his father.

"Oh, bless you, Joseph," Ben tossed the open suitcase in Joe's unsuspecting hands and tossed a number of parcels in it to save trips back and forth from the buckboard to the house. "Did you know this is the first time Rebecca and William had ever had shoes?"

"Yeah, Will mentioned it," Joe spoke as Ben added more wrapped packages to the inside of the suitcase. "Pa? It's getting a little heavy." He said uncomfortably, struggling to find a better position to hold the luggage. Ben hesitated before nodding and clasping the suitcase shut. He lifted the remaining five packages in his hands before he walked into the house, occupied with the concerns of a father. Joe shifted the suitcase to his left hand and followed.

Inside the house, Will was excitedly showing Hoss and Adam his new shoes in the Great Room, interrupting their game of chess, though Hoss didn't seem to mind. Rebecca sat and opened up her medicine book and began to read near the fireplace. "Can you tie those laces yourself?" Hoss was trying to prolong his inevitable loss as long as he could.

"No, but Joe's gonna teach me," Will replied happily, fondly stroking the laces, "I don't think it'll be that hard. At least, I hope not."

"Well, it's only hard if you make it so." Adam smirked at his brother, "Your move, Hoss."

Hoss sighed and whispered to Will, "It's only hard if _Adam_ makes it so."

Nodding sympathetically, Will whispered back, "Adam's real smart." A small smirk grew on Adam's otherwise stoic face.

Ben and Joe trampled into the house with all of the packages and the suitcase. Rebecca stood up from her reading spot and placed her book on the coffee table before she walked over and took the suitcase from Joe. To Will she said over her shoulder: "Buddy, wanna grab our packages from Ben and take them upstairs?" Will hopped up from his spot next to Hoss and Adam and took the parcels out from Ben's hands.

Ben watched the two walk up the stairs to their guest bedroom to change and once they disappeared, he turned to his boys, "Is the fence fixed?"

Adam nodded as he moved his queen diagonally three spaces, "Check mate." He looked up from the chessboard, "How was the trip into town?"

"They've never had their own pair of shoes before, not even in winter," Ben replied quietly. He closed his eyes and shook his head before he looked up to the ceiling as if he could see Rebecca and Will through the boards. "William was too excited to notice this, but his sister kept looking over her shoulders towards the street and when we passed the sheriff's office she gave it a wide berth."

"Maybe Rebecca didn't tell the whole story," Adam was sure of this, "or maybe she told us a false one."

Joe rolled his eyes from his position next to his father, "Not this again, Adam. We went over this while we were fixin' the fence."

"This just proves my point," Adam's voice was raised an octave. "Why would she feel uneasy in town and avoid the sheriff's if they're not running from something? I say once they come down, we ask Rebecca to tell us the truth."

"Even if they did lie to us," Hoss said, overcoming his loss, "we can't just ask them to tell us the truth just like that. We have to gain their trust too before we ease out the information. You can't kick a bull from behind, can ya?"

"They've only been here for a few hours. Let them have a chance to rest. Then, Adam, you can question them." Ben sat down in the red leather chair, "On a lighter note, I heard there's going to be a barn raising party next week at the Larson's across the way and we're invited. If Rebecca and Will are still with us by that time, I would like for them to join us to the party."

"A party?" Will asked excitedly from the stairs in his new blue cotton button-up shirt and his gray wool britches held up by black braces, "Will there be other kids there?"

"I would think so," Ben smiled at the excited boy hopping down the last few steps onto the landing. He looked up at Rebecca in her brown gingham dress still on the stairs, "It's a week away, but we'd like for you to rest here at least that long, then we can pay for your stagecoach fare to Reno."

Rebecca hesitated for a moment when she reached the bottom steps, "Yes, we could do that. Though I won't be much company at the party- I don't know how to dance."

"Not a problem," said Little Joe as he winked, "just leave that to me. I'll teach you after lunch."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

True to his word, Little Joe taught Rebecca how to dance after lunch, successfully avoiding his chores for the afternoon and for the afternoons following. While the remaining three Cartwright's were branding calves, Adam voiced his complaint, "Pa, how long does it take to teach a woman how to dance?"

Ben paused in his work and looked up at his eldest son, "If you were given the chance to teach a woman how to dance, you'd milk that opportunity to the bone as well." Adam scoffed. "Besides, he's asking her more questions. I want to find out why she was afraid of the sheriff's office four days ago."

"To figure what we're dealing with?"

"No, Adam," Ben gave him a pointed look, "to understand."

* * *

><p>"<em>One<em>, two, three, _one_, two, three," Joe was twirling Rebecca around the great room, the coffee table and all the chairs pushed up against the wall. He paused momentarily in his counting and grinned, "You're great at waltzing, Rebecca."

Rebecca scoffed, "My feet are on yours, of course I'd be doing great."

A chuckle escaped Joe and he stopped his dancing. "D'you think you're ready to use your own feet?" Rebecca nodded as she stepped off of Joe's boot-clad feet. The second Rebecca stepped back on the ground, Joe started once more, barely giving Rebecca any warning. "And _one_, two, three, _one_, two, three, _one_, two, three…" Slowly, Joe stopped counting to the music inside his head and the two were soon dancing silently for a moment until Joe spoke up again, "Did your parents ever go to any dances?"

"No. My parents didn't have too many friends," answered Rebecca, "they didn't like people very much."

"How come?"

Rebecca shrugged, "They were shy, I guess. And they didn't trust them."

"'Them?' You're grouping _people_ apart from your family?" Joe giggled, "Were your parents human?"

"_Yes_, they were human, Joe."

Joe let a giggle escape his lips one last time before growing serious, "Why didn't they trust people?"

"Because they knew secrets and promises won't last forever. They only trusted my brother and I because they knew we wouldn't tell people."

"Tell people what?"

"That my parents were-" Rebecca caught herself and grew angry. She stopped dancing and pulled away from Joe. "Who are you to pry into my life?"

Anger also flared in Joe and his brows furrowed, "I happen to be your host. I think I'm entitled to some information. I don't want to house a bunch of thieves, do I?"

"You're entitled to _some_ information, not _all_," the angry woman retorted. "Did your father set you up to ask questions or did you realize catching me off guard would be your best bet for private details?"

"I just want to know more about you."

"I told you everything the day you and Adam found me. Don't you trust me?"

Joe pointed his finger in Rebecca's direction, "Adam hasn't trusted you since we brought you here and I've been disagreeing with my own brother, trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Do you know how hard it is to trust you when you don't even trust us? How do we know if you're not hiding something?"

"How do I know you aren't going to use the information against me?"

"We've given you room and board for four days now. We've even put Will in school because his education means something to you. Don't you think we'd have done something to you already?" Joe looked away with teeth grinding in frustration. He took a deep sigh and cooled down. "I'm sorry, Rebecca," he turned back to face her, "I don't understand why you won't trust us."

Rebecca gave Joe a solitary nod and spoke stiffly, "Apology accepted, Joseph. Thank you for taking time out of your chores to give me dance lessons, but I don't think I will need them anymore. I am going to rest in my room; I will see you at dinner." Rebecca walked up the stairs, turned the corner, and was out of sight. Joe looked on after her, not knowing whether to be forlorn or frustrated.

The two did not speak to each other for the next three days unless they wanted something passed along the dinner table. Sharply contrasting Rebecca's and Joe's relationship, Will grew closer to Joe, spending nearly every moment with the young man when he wasn't in school and when Joe either didn't have any chores or he was shirking them. Rebecca drew into herself, growing more jealous and angry every time she saw Will laugh with his new hero. She now spent her days on the settee in the great room or on the porch outside, in both places her face was always hidden behind her medical book. When Joe played with Will he would glance over every now and then at Rebecca and would feel guilty, but he didn't act on his feelings.

* * *

><p>The day of the barn raising party, the Ponderosa ranch house was a frenzy of bodies in between the bath house and bedrooms. The Cartwright's graciously offered Rebecca and Will the bath house first and they washed and changed quickly before returning to their rooms to dry and fix their hair. Adam burst out of the bath house in only his pants and undershirt with his hair dripping and his face full of shaving cream, "Has any one seen my razor?" He yelled. Adam's only answer was the slam of the bath house door. "Joe!" Adam rushed back to the bath house and punched his fist on the window panes, "Joe, I wasn't finished! I have shaving cream all over my face!"<p>

"Then you should have thought of that before you left, older brother." Joe giggled and Adam kicked the door out of frustration. He turned to find Ben tight lipped in all his parental glory. "Pa," Adam lifted his foamy chin a tad higher, "my razor is missing."

"So I see," Ben replied sternly with a raised eyebrow. Again, Joe giggled from behind the door. "Joseph, are you going to stand there giggling or are you going to bathe?" The two outside immediately heard the ruffle of clothing and the splash of water.

Adam sighed, "I'll wash my face in the pump." Ben nodded and walked back inside the house. When Adam arrived at the water pump on the side of the house, he found his razor lying neatly on the wooden planks surrounding the pump with a note scrawled by Adam's youngest brother: _Thanks for the bath, older brother. Yours, Little Joe._ Adam angrily stuffed the note in his pocket and started to shave.

Once everyone was finished getting ready they left in their buggy that had been readied for them by a hired hand. The trip was a little over an hour and in that time, Adam had revealed Joe's note to their father who had a good hour with nothing else to do than to talk to Joe about his misbehavior. At the outdoor party, however, all was forgotten and the three Cartwright boys scattered off in different directions, all towards a woman or, in Joe's case, women. Will had spotted a few children leaning against a tree and made his way towards them to make friends and play games. Within thirty seconds, the Cartwright-Gullixson party diminished from six to two. Ben chuckled, "Not even a single 'goodbye' among them. Would you care to dance, Rebecca?" Ben reached for her hand and the two were waltzing soon after.

A few minutes later the song was over and a woman called Ben a few couples to his right. He politely excused himself from Rebecca. She was awkwardly leaving for the refreshment table when a stranger confronted her to ask for a dance and she nervously accepted. Three dances and a short break later, Rebecca stood next to the glasses of punch with a scone in hand. She was about to reach for a glass when there was a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, Rebecca found that the finger belonged to Adam.

"If I may have this next dance," he said, extending his hand as the next song began. Rebecca nodded and placed her uneaten scone back on the silver platter. She took Adam's hand and he led her to the middle of the pack of dancers. "May I ask you something, Rebecca?" She nodded. "Do you really have an uncle in Reno?"

Rebecca looked up with her wide eyes and found Adam to be serious and slightly frightening. She swallowed and answered, "No. I don't."

"Are you going to Reno?"

"I don't know where we're going."

"Is Gullixson your real name?"

Rebecca shot Adam a scathing look, "What makes you think I'd lie about my name?"

Adam shrugged nonchalantly but his eyes were still dark and probing, "You seem to have lied about everything else."

"I lie to protect my family," Rebecca whispered quickly.

"Why would they need protection? They're dead, aren't they?" Adam was subject to a look of hate; he passed it off with a raised eyebrow. "From what would they need protection?"

"From people like you who would look down at them and hate them if you even heard someone utter their names."

"You don't happen to be running away from the law, are you, Rebecca?"

Rebecca stopped concentrating on her feet, resulting in trodden toes on Adam's part. Rebecca didn't apologize. "What is it to you if I am or not?"

Adam didn't bother to answer Rebecca and instead posed another question, "Perhaps you should start telling the truth, Miss Rebecca, before I start looking for the truth elsewhere."

Rebecca shakily inhaled and started her story, "I don't know where I'm leading William. We have no relatives I know about and we didn't have any friends. Our father would move us around a lot. We don't want to go to a foster home; I'm old enough to be William's guardian, I can take care of him."

"When you went to town a week ago with my pa, he said you looked almost scared when you passed the sheriff's office and you kept looking over your shoulder. Care to explain that?"

"I'm afraid of gunfire."

Adam scoffed. "You're in the West. You should be used to gunfire."

"Who are you to josh about other peoples' fears? You aren't as high and mighty as you think you are."

The song changed to a slow waltz and Adam fit the part by tugging Rebecca closer to his chest as he bent his head down to her ear and whispered, "I'm also not as dumb as I look. Now, I know you're lying, Rebecca, and I hate to talk to you like a child but will you tell me what, exactly, is your motive?"

Rebecca bit her bottom lip nervously before replying barely above a whisper, "The men who burned my house threatened that if they didn't find all the bodies, they would search the entire area for us. After that I couldn't stay and mourn over my parents."

"How couldn't those men catch you and Will on their horses when you two were nearly barefoot?"

"We walked through tough terrain. We double backed every once in a while and we hid our tracks with branches. I rarely lit any fires and sometimes we would travel by night. I would make up game to distract William from the seriousness of the situation if we ever crossed paths with anyone. I still don't think he knows we're being followed. He thinks we're going to stay on the Ponderosa forever, and he has made such a close relationship to Joe that I'd hate to tell him that we're leaving. Yesterday he accidentally called Little Joe 'Pa' once. I don't know how long it'll be until those men come to Virginia City and find us. I don't want to tell William we're leaving, but-" Rebecca's voice wavered, making Adam feel like kicking himself for being so impersonal towards her since she arrived.

"I must apologize; I thought you have been running from the law this whole time. I have been acting cold towards you since Joe and I found you, all because of an idea that wasn't based on fact, but rather feeling."

"I forgive you, Adam," Rebecca smiled into Adam's shoulder, "I would have done the same thing in your position."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

Word spread quickly in the Cartwright household and by the end of the week all of the Cartwright's knew about Rebecca's predicament from the mouth of Adam. Two days after the party Hoss commented to Adam while Rebecca was upstairs reading and Will was taking a nap after a long day of arithmetic at school, "See, Adam? I told you she wasn't lookin' for no trouble." Hoss said kindly, though Adam felt the comment as rough sandpaper against his face.

"Yes, Hoss, yes. You were right, I was wrong." Adam rolled his dark eyes at his younger brother.

"Oh, don't get so sore, older brother," Little Joe grinned, "it's not that bad, being wrong. You get used to it. I mean, you get used to pointing out our mistakes every day, don't you?"

"Boys," Ben warned from the alcove where he was trying to count figures amid his sons' heated discussion.

Joe opened his mouth to reply when there was a loud knock at the door. Adam, the one closest to the door, opened it to reveal a tall, unknown sheriff dusty from a long ride. "Hello," the Sheriff started, "I'm Sheriff Richard King from Aurora, southeast a ways. Are you a Mr. Ben Cartwright?"

Adam quickly glanced at his brothers beside him before answering, "Uh, no, I'm his son, Adam, but if you could come inside I'll fetch him for you."

"No need, Adam," Ben piped up as he left the alcove, "I'm right here."

Sheriff King stuck out his hand, "Mr. Cartwright, my name is sheriff Richard King from Aurora. I've been asking around Virginia City and I have reason to believe you're housing a Miss Rebecca Carder and a Mr. William Carder."

"Carder?" Ben asked, taken aback. He looked at his sons who were surprised as well, though Adam was growing red in the face. "What is the meaning of this?"

Sheriff King swallowed, "May I sit down?"

"Please." Ben lead the group deeper inside the great room to the circle of chairs. Sheriff King deflated onto the settee.

"Have you men ever heard of a Mr. Fredrick Carder?" King asked as an introduction.

Joe stirred in his seat opposite the sheriff, "Well, yeah, Fred Carder, he- he robs stagecoaches single-handedly. He hit Virginia City once a few years back."

"Frank Carder was killed nearly two months ago in Aurora. He came over in my territory three months before that, though his name was Frank Gullixson to people on the street and in the gold mines where he worked. Eventually I got a tip from one of the miners that a Gullixson was actin' strange and would sometimes be missin' days at a time. For the next few days I followed him from his lean-to to the mines and one day he veered off the path and walked two miles in the other direction before sittin' in the brush. I waited a few yards behind 'im for an hour until a stagecoach came in t' view. Just like that, Carder sprang int' action. I ran back t' town and enlisted a few men that night for backup for when I was goin' t' arrest him and find the stagecoach money at his house."

At this point in his story, Sheriff King's voice grew distant and his eyes clouded with memory, "I didn't think the men I enlisted would carry their torches and extra bullets, but they did. When we got t' Carder's lean-to I called out to him that he was arrested. He didn't come out and I yelled again. A bullet fired from the window and then all hell broke loose. The men took his only horse from his stable and burned both the stable and the house. I heard screams from the inside and realized that there was a woman and children inside. Before I could convince the men there were innocent people inside, the roof collapsed and everything went silent.

"There was a creek by the house and my men found a pail. We tried to take out the fire before it reached the trees and once the fire was put out, I entered what was left of the lean-to and found Carder and his wife dead near the door, but the children and the money were missing. I figured the best I could do for the children was t' pay them back for the damages, so I tracked them as best I could all the way here. I wanted t' tell them I have a bank note for five hundred dollars and they could turn that in for cash at any old bank. It's the least I could do for them."

A voice angrily called from the top of the staircase, "Five hundred dollars?" The men downstairs turned and saw Rebecca standing rigid on the stairs, clutching her medical book so tight to her chest that her knuckles were white, "Will five hundred dollars be enough to pay the devil to bring my daddy back? Will God take the money to send my momma back down to earth?"

King's mouth was gaping like a fish on the settee, "M- Miss, it's the be-"

"I heard what you said," Rebecca cut him off with a sharp tongue. "Keep your money. We don't need any pity from you. We're better off without you."

Adam's anger got the best of him. He stood up and turned around so fast he tipped his chair over, "And where would you be if Joe and I didn't find you two weeks ago? Would you be better off without five hundred dollars then?"

"I've got all the money I need. You Cartwright's are nothin' but a spring by a road. We need you for a moment, but then we'll keep on traveling."

"Well have you filled up yet? I usually don't laze around a spring for two weeks not going anywhere."

"Adam," Ben interjected, "fighting will get us nowhere."

"No," Rebecca said fiercely as she briskly walked down the stairs. "Let him speak his mind."

"Why don't you take the money?" Adam asked. "You can start a new life with it, although it sounds like you can start a different life without any."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Adam bridged the gap between him and Rebecca, "You know what I mean. We give you room and board and you repay us by lying to us more than once about your past."

Rebecca tilted her stubborn chin upwards to meet Adam's fierce eyes, "I lie to protect my family."

"You lie to protect a father who murdered and stole from innocent people," Adam bit into Rebecca's pride, "who'd want to protect someone like that?" _Smack._ Rebecca slapped Adam's cheek as hard as she could muster. Adam grabbed Rebecca's forearms and shook her none too gently, "Your father killed for money. Money that now, the sheriff can't find. Where is that money, Rebecca?"

Hoss stood up slowly, "Adam, settle down. There's no use gettin' riled up and shakin' the answer outta her." He placed a large hand on Adam's shoulder but Adam just shrugged it off.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rebecca ignored Hoss as well and spoke to Adam vehemently.

"You know _exactly _what I'm talking about." Adam glanced down at the medical book Rebecca was still carrying, "Let's take a closer look at that book of yours, shall we?" He yanked the book out of Rebecca's hands and turned around towards the sheriff and the rest of the Cartwright's as he opened the well-worn book and looked at the pages closely.

Ben was embarrassed by his son's behavior, "Adam, I don't think that's needed," he said sternly.

"Perhaps," Adam said as he looked at the pages closely. He slowly lifted an edge of a leaf and gently rubbed his thumb on the edge of the paper, "But isn't it peculiar how Carder had the money in his lean-to, but just when the children go missing, so does the money?" Adam bent his head closer to the edge of the paper and a hint of a smirk touched his face. He looked up as he slit the page in half with his thumbnail, revealing that the page was in fact two glued together. Adam detached the two pages, revealing fifteen one hundred dollar bills.

Rebecca looked shocked and stared at the money, "I-I didn't know my father glued the paper together."

"Give me one reason for me to trust you, Rebecca," Adam asked, "you've had that book in your possession before Carder stole that money and you haven't let that book go since we've found you. If I found that seem in less than ten minutes why haven't you found it in ten days?"

Rebecca tried to sputter out an answer. Tears welled in her eyes and she choked back a sob, "My father wasn't bad. He just made bad decisions to help his family survive."

"You can sugar coat it all you want, Rebecca, but the truth is still the same," Adam said stoically. "You're lying and running away destroyed your brother's chance at a normal childhood. You and your father both were in bad situations where you could have done things differently for the better but instead you tore down any chance of that. You're no better than your father."

Rebecca gave a cry and Ben drew the line, "Adam, that is enough. You leave Ms. Rebecca alone." He stood up and walked over to Rebecca. He put a large hand on the small of her back and gently led her to an open chair. "Now Rebecca, if you turn in this stolen money, I assume you will still be able to get the five hundred from Sheriff King and you can be on your way." Ben looked back at the sheriff for confirmation, who nodded. "See? Tomorrow, after breakfast, we'll go into Virginia City and turn in the money and then we'll cash the note Sheriff King has to support you and Will, all right?"

Rebecca paused, thinking about the situation. She looked up at Adam with her stubborn chin still intact despite the tears, though she spoke to Ben, "Yes, I'll go, if only to prove to you that I'm different than my father."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

The sheriff left shortly after for his hotel room and to avoid the oncoming parental tirade Ben was about to unleash on Adam. He said his final farewells and nearly shut the door when he heard Ben boom, "_Adam Cartwright, your humiliation of Rebecca was inappropriate and uncalled for!_" The door clicked shut, muffling Adam's response. Sheriff King shakily sighed with relief that he wasn't subject to Ben's anger if he was feeling fear just by the sound of his deep voice amplified by the wooden rafters. He speedily got on his horse and left for Virginia City.

"Pa, she lied to us and had the stolen money this whole time," Adam countered, jutting out his chin just like Rebecca had done, who was still sitting in the chair Ben led her into and feeling a combination of anger and revenge.

"That gives you no reason to humiliate her! I thought I raised you better, Adam."

Adam pointed a finger at his father, "You raised me to mind the law; you said nothing about not punishing those who don't." He lowered his finger and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sorry, Pa, but it had to be done."

Rebecca spoke up, "You're not sorry, Adam."

Adam whipped his head towards Rebecca and retorted, "Stay out of this, Carder."

Hoss stepped forward to intervene. "Adam!" He exclaimed, "That's no way t' treat a lady." Adam opened his mouth but Hoss beat him to it, "Just simmer down, brother. Anger is gettin' the best o' your mind and ya can't think straight. Why don't'cha go outside and ride some steam off awhile?" Hoss didn't wait for an answer before he grabbed the back of Adam's collar and led him out of the house.

Ben shook his head as Hoss came back, "I'm terribly sorry about my son, Rebecca," Ben looked up and eyed the girl in the chair.

"I don't blame him for how he's acting," Rebecca shrugged, "I admit my father didn't lead the most honorable life."

"Yes, well," Ben nodded, "we'll leave tomorrow when we've all cooled down."

* * *

><p>The next morning Rebecca borrowed two of the Cartwright's horses for Will and herself to ride into town with an envelope of the stolen cash and the bank note. Ben and Adam led the way while Hoss and Joe stayed at the ranch to catch up on chores that needed to be done. The group of four rode in silence, though every once in a while Will would murmur a question in Rebecca's direction, prompting her to respond in a low voice that seemed garbled to the Cartwright's ahead trying to eavesdrop. "Becky, why are we going into town?" Will asked, "I don't have school today."<p>

"I know, Buddy," Rebecca replied, "but we're going into town because we have to go to the bank. There's some money Pa had wanted us to deposit some money a while ago, but I had never got around to it."

"Oh," Will said with bright eyes. He looked at Adam's broad shoulders square on the horse in front before he asked another question, "Why were you and Adam fighting yesterday? I heard you from my room."

Adam's ear perked up at the sound of his name but he resisted the urge to turn around. Instead, he strained his ears even harder to hear Rebecca's reply. "We just didn't agree on something. Sometimes people get so angry with each other that they raise their voices, but that doesn't mean that's right, okay, Bud?"

"You want to leave and Adam wanted us to stay, right? I heard you say we have to keep on walking so we can meet our uncle in Reno."

Rebecca didn't reply right away, thinking of what to say. She flicked her eyes up to Adam's face to see if he was listening but it looked like he was oblivious to the conversation. "Yes, you're right, Buddy. I just don't want to keep Uncle waiting."

Adam tightened the reins of his horse as he heard Rebecca's blatant lie. He bit his tongue to keep another outburst from escaping, though he nearly lost it when Rebecca replied to another one of Will's questions. "If we send Uncle a telegram saying we're staying at the Cartwright's for a while, could we stay here longer?"

"I think that's a good idea, Buddy. While we're in town I'll send Uncle a telegram saying we'll be arriving later than we thought."

"If you don't mind, Pa," Adam spoke up, clipping his words more than usual, "I think I'll head into the Bucket of Blood when we reach town." The only response he got from his father was a curt nod.

They reached Virginia City within the hour and Adam promptly rode off to the Bucket of Blood without doffing his hat. Ben sighed at the antics of his oldest son before he rode across the street and down a few yards to dismount in front of the bank. He tied his horse's reins to the post in front of the wooden building before also tying the reins of Rebecca's and Will's horses. Ben flashed a smile to make up for Adam's behavior, "Shall we go inside?"

The inside of the bank was much darker than the glaring sun outside and Rebecca and Will stood in the doorway blinking furiously to adjust to the shadowy interior. Ben walked ahead of the two siblings to the teller and started business right away. "Tim, these are the Carder children," he muttered so as to not attract unwanted attention. "I have a note by Sheriff King from Aurora about this."

Tim nodded, his thin spectacles nearly falling off the bridge of his nose, "Yes, Mr. Cartwright, Sheriff King came by yesterday. I have the money right here if Miss Carder has hers." He looked pointedly with his blue eyes at Rebecca, who quickly walked over to Ben and Tim and handed the envelope of money over. Tim looked over the bills, nodding when he counted the exact amount. He folded the bills and hid them underneath the desk where he also produced the five hundred dollars Rebecca was promised. The five hundred dollars refilled Rebecca's envelope, "Thank you for bringing back the money, Miss Carder."

Rebecca nodded and quietly took the envelope from Tim's hand. Ben laid a heavy hand on Rebecca's shoulder, "Thank you, Tim." Then to Rebecca, "I have more business I have to attend to here concerning the Ponderosa." Ben dug out a coin from his vest pocket, "I have a quarter here for you and Will to spend on sweets at the mercantile. When you two are done you can meet me by our horses."

"Sweets!" Will exclaimed happily, "Thanks, Mr. Cartwright! C'mon, Rebecca, let's go!" Will jumped up and down waiting for Rebecca to hesitantly take Ben's silver coin, nearly beside himself. Rebecca whispered her thanks to Ben and the two made their way to the door.

Rebecca and Will were walking upon the saloon Adam had entered earlier when two men staggered out the swinging doors to stare at them. "Just ignore them, Buddy," Rebecca urged, holding on to his shoulder, "keep walking towards the mercantile."

"You with the Cartwright's, girl? You and the boy?" One of the men asked with a slight slur as the two came near.

"Why would it matter to you?" Rebecca answered with a clipped question. She subconsciously hid the envelope of money behind her back and pulled Will closer as she tried to dodge the man.

"Then you're Carder's, aren't ya?" The man stood in front of Rebecca in the way of her path, but she didn't back away, not even after smelling the foul odor of whiskey on his breath. "My brother was killed by your pa, did you know that?" He nodded, "Two years ago. And you know what I promised myself that day two years ago? I promised to kill that bastard just like he killed my brother." Rebecca stood rigid and pushed Will behind her as the man took another step forward. "I'm real disappointed men got to him before me, but that doesn't mean that I still can't take my revenge on a Carder."

Rebecca swallowed and muttered to Will, "Buddy, how about you go find Ben, all right?" Will nodded behind Rebecca's back and took a step forward, but a second man grabbed him by the arm before he could go. Rebecca turned and opened her mouth to speak when she heard the click of a gun. Whipping her head back, she saw the first man with a pistol in his hands.

"What if I were to kill the boy first?" The man asked himself, pointing the gun toward a struggling Will.

"_No, please!" _Rebecca pleaded with wide eyes, "Please, not him. He's innocent. Kill me, not the boy."

The man raised an eyebrow, "You're staring down the barrel of the gun, I don't think you're in a position to decide." The man leveled the gun as best he could with alcohol in his system. "The boy goes first. Then you."

"_No! Please, I'll do anything_," Rebecca raised her voice in panic, "Please, not William. Not Will."

The man ignored Rebecca's pleads. "Boy, look at me. I want to see your eyes."

"_Let go of him!_" Rebecca screamed at the man holding the frightened Will captive. "He didn't do anything to you men! Leave him alone!_ No! William!_"

A shot was fired and Rebecca shut her eyes and screamed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

A body fell to the planks in front of the saloon with a thud and behind her eyes Rebecca burst into tears. Hands wrapped around her waist in comfort. "Don't worry, I'm right here," said a little voice.

Rebecca hiccupped and removed her hands from her face to stare down at the wide green eyes underneath wisps of blond hair, "Buddy?" Rebecca whispered in confusion. She looked up from Will's eyes and saw the drunken man dead on the floor, the gun still in his hands.

Adam turned his gun on the other man outside, "I suggest you leave as well, unless you want to end up like your friend here." The man turned on his heel and walked off without a word, his hat well over his eyes. When the man turned the street corner and Adam made sure he had no intention to come back, Adam placed his gun back into its holster at his hip.

"Adam!" Rebecca exclaimed. She wiped her tears away to make sure it really was Adam she saw in front of her. "Thank you."

"You're either foolish to barter with your life or you're more caring than I thought," Adam replied with a smile in his eyes that Rebecca had never seen before.

Rebecca smiled sheepishly and looked sideways at her younger brother, "I have to protect my family." She brushed wisps of blond hair away from Will's eyes, "C'mon, Buddy, let's go find something in the mercantile for you." Then to Adam- "Thank you again."

The two were carefully walking around the dead man when Adam called out and grabbed Rebecca's arm, "Wait, Rebecca." Rebecca turned around and expected to get another smart remark, but was surprised when Adam's features grew soft, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting."

"You're forgiven, Adam," said Rebecca with a smile before turning back and walking with Will to the mercantile.

Adam sighed and looked back down at the body, knowing full well he had another visit to Sheriff Coffee's office on his hands.

* * *

><p>After Adam briefed Coffee about the skirmish he had ended, he was walking back to his horse where he met with his father. "Adam, I want to have a talk with you," Ben warned his eldest son.<p>

Adam nodded, "As do I." Ben gave his son a curious look, prompting Adam to explain what he had taken place in front of the Bucket of Blood no more than twenty minutes ago. "They're now in the mercantile," he finished.

"But they're all right?" Ben asked with concern. Adam nodded his head. "Good. Let's take the horses over to the mercantile and we'll leave for the Ponderosa from there."

Inside the store, Will was having a hard time deciding which candy to choose with the twenty-five cents his sister held in the palm of her hand. "Peppermint sticks or butterscotch," Will spoke to himself, looking at the glass containers on the counter, "or licorice or lemon drops. Peppermint, butterscotch, licorice, lemon." Will licked his lips and looked up from the jars, "Becky, which one should I get?"

"We have a whole quarter, Buddy," Rebecca said from the bookshelf a few steps away, "Why don't you get a few of each?" Will nodded enthusiastically at the idea and told the owner of the mercantile what he wanted just as Ben and Adam entered the store. Once Rebecca paid for the candy, the quartet left for the Ponderosa.

Two hours later they arrived back home to find Hoss walking out of the barn, dusting off his hands on his pants. Hoss looked up and smiled at them in greeting, but his smile grew wider when he spotted Will's white paper bag, "Aw, you didn't have to get me anything, Will."

"That's good," Will said honestly, not catching the joke, "because I was going to give the rest of my sweets to Joe." Hoss's face comically fell, earning deep chuckles on Ben and Adam's parts and a quiet giggle from Rebecca. Will hopped off his horse and raced inside the ranch house, passing Hoss without a second glance. "Joe!" He cried as he opened the door.

Little Joe looked up from the rifle he was cleaning near the fireplace and grinned, "Yeah, Will? What d'ya got in the bag?"

"I brought back some candy for you!" Will rushed over to where Joe was sitting and pushed the lightweight bag into Joe's hands. Joe nearly dropped his rifle as Will overcame his personal space. "I would've saved you more, but I got a little hungry on the way back."

Joe peeked inside the bag, his curiosity getting the best of him, and saw a broken peppermint stick, two lemon drops, and a piece of butterscotch. He grinned as he looked back up at Will, "Aw, thanks Will, you didn't have to do this." Joe saw his father, brothers, and Rebecca enter the house behind Will and they all shot him a knowing look as they tried to contain their laugher, save for Hoss, who looked disappointed.

"But I wanted to, Joe," Will said with a grin, "'cause that's what friends do. Since you're my only friend, I didn't have anyone else to give it to."

Joe chewed on this new bit of information, as well as the last piece of butterscotch, before speaking. "You've been going to school for a while now. Surely you've made friends there." To his and the others' alarm, Will sadly shook his head.

"I used to talk to Jacob and Matthew, but they don't talk to me anymore because I wouldn't tug on Mary's braids."

Joe swallowed the candy and brightly replied with a grin, "You should be proud of yourself, then. If you tugged on Mary's braids you would've hurt her."

Will shrugged. "I guess." He went quiet and Joe realized he should say something.

"Then who needs friends like Jacob and Matthew? C'mon, I'll show you how t' clean a gun." Will brightened up considerably and sat down next to Joe, listening intently to Joe's instructions.

Rebecca's hand on Ben's arm stopped him from setting down his gun belt and hat on the credenza along with Hoss and Adam. "May I speak to you outside for a moment?" She asked with her wide green eyes. Ben nodded and opened the door for Rebecca before closing it behind himself.

"What is the matter, Rebecca?" Ben asked with fatherly concern. He led the young woman to a rocking chair on the porch before sitting down himself. "Is it about what happened today?"

Rebecca nodded. "Ben, William and I just aren't going to be welcome to Virginia City. I've decided that we're going to leave."

"You're going to _what_?" Ben asked, taken by surprise, "Rebecca, what happened today only included two men, not the entire town."

"But there will be more like them."

"You'll have a greater chance of meeting more men like that if you leave here," reasoned Ben, "just because two men were drunk and not in their right minds-"

"But William isn't feeling welcome at school either! You heard him!"

"That is totally unrelated," Ben replied flatly with lowered eyebrows. "What William is dealing with at the schoolhouse is a phase every child goes through. Children around his age are crueler than what they seem. Why, I remember once when Joe was twelve-"

"Mr. Cartwright, once word gets out that Frank Carder was our father, how would you think those school children would act towards William? I've made up my decision, Ben," Rebecca sighed and tried to ignore the disappointment that clearly showed on Ben's face.

Though it looked like he had lost the war, Ben still had one battle up his sleeve and he was contemplating on how to go about using it. Once he formed his idea, he went in for the kill: "If you go, William will lose the only friend he's made. Not only is Joseph his friend, but he's made Joseph up to be his father. You've seen the way William looks up to him and how he always follows Little Joe around. You take that bond away from him and what does he have left?"

"The _only_ thing he has left." Rebecca stuck out her chin, "His sister, and that's all he needs. We're leaving, Ben. Tomorrow after breakfast."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any rights to _Bonanza_ or anything affiliated with it.

Joe groggily woke the next morning, late as usual. He indulged in a full-body yawn and stretched as much as his tangled sheets would allow, making himself more alert in the process. Joe listened for any irritated footsteps approaching his closed door or the angry voices of his family, but there was nothing. He quickly jumped out of bed and dressed just as fast before opening his door wide and leaving for the first floor to see why his family's usual reactions were missing. When Joe reached the landing, he saw that Will was waiting for him by the fireplace with a forlorn expression on his face. Joe looked up to find the cause of Will's sadness, but found his father, brothers, and Rebecca standing in a half-circle near the settee. "What's the matter?" Joe asked, looking from face to face for an answer.

"Becky and I are going to Reno to stay at my uncle's house," Will explained.

"What? You don't have an-"

"-Any horses," Rebecca altered Joe's statement, skyrocketing all of the Cartwright's blood pressures, "I know. But we got here this far, haven't we?" She gave Will a soft smile to ignore the looks of hurt, confusion, and anger that spilled out of the Cartwright's. Looking back up at Joe, she added, "We were going to leave as soon as William could say goodbye to you."

Will's eyes were bright with the onslaught of tears. "Pa- er, Joe?" He stepped closer and his chin started to wobble. "I love you." Will collided with Joe's middle to hug him tightly.

Joe's heart broke as he hugged him back. "I love you too, Will, and don't you forget it." He held Will a moment longer because Joe knew he would probably never see the young boy again. They let go and Will wiped his nose on his sleeve. "You've had breakfast already?"

"We all had breakfast without you, Little Joe," Hoss answered. "Hop Sing was threatenin' to leave again if we waited any longer." Joe was going to question as to why they didn't wake him up, but one look from his father told him not to ask, making him realize his father had probably used that extra time to try to convince Rebecca to stay, to no avail.

"Where is your suitcase?" Ben asked Rebecca.

"Oh, Mr. Cartwright, I don't think-"

"Why else would I have bought it for you?" Ben asked. His face broke into a small smile, "It's not that heavy, and I assume your extra clothes are already packed inside it. I'll fetch it for you. Excuse me." Ben gave Rebecca a pat on her shoulder as he passed.

While Ben was rummaging upstairs, the rest downstairs were silent. Rebecca felt ashamed for leaving the Cartwright's without much notice; Adam was seething and not in the mood for any pleasant conversation; Will was trying as hard as possible to stifle his tears; Joe couldn't think of anything he could say that would consol Will; and Hoss couldn't think of any topic that they all had an opinion, save for the weather. Hoss inaudibly sighed in relief when he heard Ben walk back down the hallway to the staircase. "Thank you for everything, Mr. Cartwright," Rebecca said as Ben handed her the suitcase.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Ben asked once more. "It could be permanent. I know the lawyer in Virginia City who can legalize adoption."

Rebecca glanced at Will, who was mouthing the word _adoption_ to get a feel of it in his mouth, before she looked back and answered, "No, we're quite all right. We'll wire you the next time we're in Virginia City, if that makes you feel better."

In anger, Adam bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood before he lost control and replied with dripping sarcasm, "Oh, please do, Rebecca. We'll be waiting in anticipation until then."

"_Adam_!" Ben whispered harshly. "That is enough!"

Rebecca's lips receded into a fine line on her blushing face and gave a curt nod in Adam's direction. "Goodbye Ben, Hoss, Joe, Adam. Thank you for housing us for the past two weeks." Rebecca then looked at Will, "Come on, Will. We've got a lot of walking to do if you want to see your uncle."

"'Bye, Joe." Will said in a wavering voice. Joe sadly smiled at the boy before Will turned around and followed his sister out of the door, closing it behind him.

"'Quite all right,'" Adam quoted with disgust. "Quite all right, my foot."

"I disagree with her just as much as you do, Adam," Ben confessed, staring at the closed door as if he could see the two siblings making their way past the barn.

"Then why didn't you stop them?"

"Would Rebecca really stay here?" Ben countered. "She felt like it was set in stone for her to leave."

"She's ruining William's life."

Ben nodded slowly and took his eyes off the door, "That sweet boy. I have a feeling if we do see them again, that boy will not be as he is now."

Joe spoke up for the first time since he said his goodbyes to Will, "Do you think they'll ever come back?"

"William, perhaps, but not Rebecca."

* * *

><p>"Okay, Buddy, how about another word?"<p>

The day had turned out sunny and wonderful; Rebecca couldn't have asked for a better day. When the two left the Ponderosa and resumed walking in unclaimed territory, a weight lifted in Rebecca's chest that left her feeling lightheaded and giddy. _No more towns, no more law, and no more Cartwright's!_ She thought. A bright, wide smile graced her face.

"What does 'adoption' mean?" Will asked carefully, a few paces behind. If there was one thing Joe taught him during their time together, it was to always be at a safe distance away from hands that could whip you.

It was as if Will slapped the smile off of Rebecca's face. "It means an empty promise, that's what 'adoption' means. So just get it out of your head right now," she snapped, "those Cartwright's don't mean anything to us."

"Joe means something to me," Will ventured in a small voice. He could tell his sister was angry, but Joe told him to always tell the truth, even if you did have to stretch it every once in a while.

In a clipped tone, Rebecca replied "And I'm sorry we had to leave him, but it's for the best. We've still got us, don't we?" There was a moment's silence before she looked up at the sun and turned around to face her forlorn brother. "I think it's about lunch time. Why don't we stop and have a look around for some water and berries?"

The two stopped on a bank of a small stream where there was a smattering of gooseberry bushes basking in the noontime sun. "Do you think we should save some berries in our suitcase?" Will asked after they had eaten their fill.

"That's a good idea, Buddy. D'you want to pick some while I make room for them?" Will quickly stood up off the grass where he lay on his stomach and got to work picking the remaining gooseberries. Rebecca turned away from her brother to open the clasp that held the suitcase together and once she opened it, she was surprised to see an envelope on top of their clothes with the words _Rebecca and William_ printed neatly on the front in ink. Rebecca opened the envelope to find the five hundred dollars she purposely left in her dresser at the Cartwright's, along with a letter Ben has written from the night before. The suitcase and Rebecca's first intention to find a spot for the berries were abandoned as Rebecca situated herself to read the letter comfortably.

Will finished his gathering and walked up to Rebecca, excited by the amount of gooseberries he carried in his shirt, when he saw her reading the letter. "What's that?" He asked as he dropped the gooseberries onto the grass.

Rebecca finished silently reading the letter and passed it to her brother, "Why don't you read it out loud."

"Is this from the Cartwright's?" Rebecca nodded. "When did they give this to us?"

"Probably when Ben brought down our suitcase from upstairs."

Will started to read happily, stumbling over the occasional word. "_Rebecca and William, I am sorry to hear that you have planned on leaving. It's been a plea- plea_… _sure- it's been a pleasure having you here since the day Adam and Joseph found you two weeks ago. I didn't know how much I had missed hearing little feet scamp- scamper around the house-_ Hey, I don't have little feet!_ -And it was nice having a daughter for the first time in my life. I apol- apologi- apologize that you did not feel welcome in Virginia City, but I write to tell you that you are always welcome here at the Ponderosa with my sons and myself. You still have us by your side if you come by any trouble during your travels and adoption is still not out of the question. Much love and well wishes, Benjamin Cartwright._" Will looked up from the letter with a grin, "Are we going to see Joe again? Mr. Cartwright said we could-"

"Mr. Cartwright was just saying things to make himself feel better about us leaving," Rebecca reasoned. "It's nothing to take seriously." She took the letter from Will's hand and tore it in two before dropping its pieces on the ground. "Have you got those gooseberries? Let's pack them up and keep walking. We've got a lot of miles ahead of us." Rebecca created a nest for the berries while Will secretly picked the pieces of the letter off the ground and folded them into the front pocket of his britches. Once Rebecca was finished packing, the two hiked on in silence without a backwards glance.

**THE END**


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